The Valiant – Review
On PC, you can find THQ Nordic and KITE Games’ The Valiant on Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG as of October 19, 2022. How true is it to its promise of a new take on the real-time strategy genre?
Here’s a synopsis in case you haven’t heard of the game:
The Valiant is a squad-based real-time strategy game set in 13th-century Europe and the Middle East, where players embark on a quest for redemption and brotherhood. You’ll be in charge of a band of mediaeval knights and tasked with leading them through an epic single-player campaign before taking your newly acquired skills online to compete or cooperate with other players in multiplayer modes.
Given that it caters to a more laid-back crowd, I propose we approach this game from a more novice stance.
Theoderich von Akenburg, a knight in the Crusades during the Middle Ages, is our narrator. Due to his friend Ulrich von Greval’s discovery of the Rod of Aaron, he is compelled to come out of retirement. Since reassembling this rod could unleash a terrible evil, Theoderich sets out on a journey across the Middle East and Europe to collect the necessary pieces before anyone else can.
The game doesn’t even use CGI for cutscenes, so don’t expect it to win any awards for visual excellence. The visuals are more like a slideshow than anything else, but the audio design and the voice actors deserve a lot of credit for bringing the game to life and making the story so interesting to follow. The score adapts dynamically to the state of the battlefield, adding another layer of realism. Once you’ve planned out your strategy, the peace will be broken by the clash of armies, the blare of weapons, the yells of soldiers, and the collapse of buildings.
The single-player campaign in The Valiant spans 16 chapters, each of which can be finished in 20-30 minutes on Normal. It’s possible that 8 hours is too short, but that depends on your perspective. The campaign is the whole story, with no detours. Looking for cosmetic additions is primarily limited to things that can be used in the Skirmish or Multiplayer modes, such as weapons, armour, and skins.
In addition to the cooperative play, there is also Competitive PVP. Up to three other players can join in the fun, each with their own unique hero, armies, and objectives to conquer. Instead, you could try Last Man Standing, a cooperative game where you and two other players work together to defend a supply base from an oncoming enemy. There was no real chance to try out an online game because of the lack of players, possibly because of the time zone.
There is a top-down approach to all of this. Micromanaging your heroes, troops, structures, palisades, and traps will bring you hours of entertainment. Heroes, as you might expect, are one-of-a-kind individuals, while the various types of soldiers (Archers, Swordsmen, Spearmen, Cavalry, and so on) each have their own specialisations. Try out both and see which one you like better! Theodorich, for example, can give his soldiers more “Vigor,” a resource similar to armour, so they can stay in the fight for longer. It is possible for individual troops to have special abilities, or “traits,” such as the ability of Archers to impede the progress of the enemy or the ability of some Swordsmen to Knockdown. Skill Trees are a method of gradually improving your units’ effectiveness.
Though I did make allusions to micro, it’s actually quite a bit simpler because you only have to worry about the class as a whole rather than each individual troop. Yes, I think this is much easier to handle, especially if you’re just starting out. This is significant because, even when structures are present, the emphasis is typically on the units themselves. The consequences of poor placement or late installation of sills can be far more disastrous than the buildings themselves.
Despite not having a comprehensive tutorial, the game is easy to pick up and play after just a few minutes of practise. Finding the counters is not too difficult, even on Hard, because the enemy’s priorities are very straightforward, such as Cavalry focusing on Archers and Archers focusing on buildings. Campaign missions are also unremarkable and easy to complete. At least, the story’s variety of settings and foes helps keep things interesting.
The Valiant, as it currently stands, resembles a real-time strategy game designed for players with minimal prior experience with such games. As warm and inviting as its simplicity is, it also happens to be one of, if not its greatest, flaws. It loses its novelty quickly, and there isn’t even a robust online community to keep players coming back.
It can offer a great story experience that is enhanced by its overall presentation, design and acting, so RTS newbies who are just looking for a tale to enjoy, can pick up The Valiant and cruise along. It’s built on a strong basis, but it needs to be expanded upon.
